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ayashiki-i-i · 5 years ago

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Last Friday, I had the absolute joy and privilege to see Be More Chill in London!

(Yes, last Friday, this has been sitting in my drafts for over a week because I couldn’t figure out how to appropriately convey my delight with this show, and also yes, joy and privilege, call me dramatic but I swear to god nothing on this Earth makes me appreciate my life quite as live theatre.)

I have loved this show for a very long time. Not quite since its first Two Rivers Theatre run, but very early on from when it caught the internet’s attention. I was at the start of what was to become a viral sensation, and I was with the show, rooting for it, hoping for it, ever since. I feel like I walked the journey from crossing million hits on Spotify to the Broadway alongside the cast and creators. I felt immensely happy and proud for these people I never met when they announced their off-Broadway return, and I honest to god cried the day they opened on Broadway. Needless to say, I was overjoyed, literally jumping with happiness, when they announced they will stage a production on West End. Or technically off-West End? I’m still very confused how The Other Palace is not West End and Victoria Palace literally around the corner is West End... Anyway. I have not walked into that theatre on Valentine’s Day with low expectations.

And my Mount Everest high expectations were far, far exceeded and shot somewhere into the stratosphere.

I really can’t with words describe how much I loved this show. Joes Iconis and Tracz managed to hit some very special spot with this musical. It’s truly hard to describe, but this show just makes you happy. It makes you involved and interested. And I gotta tell you, I think we hit the press night, because there was a bunch of people (very respectfully) scribbling on their pads and iPads during the show, so this wasn’t an audience primed and geared for this type of musical. And that’s not even counting all the parents chaperoning their teenagers. And I can guarantee you everyone had a great time. During the intermission I went to get a drink and witnessed several conversations between aforementioned parents that all pretty much amounted to “wow, this is actually good!” It’s honestly such a treat to be in an audience that’s genuinely enjoying themselves.

This show is funny, and heartfelt, and charming. So charming. It has somehow a vibe of a really well done high school production, which could maybe sound like a criticism but i swear it isn’t!

I haven’t seen much of the previous productions, except few clips from the Two Rivers bootleg slime tutorial, but I really tried not to watch too much, hoping against hope there will be a revival one day (I try not to watch shows I have a chance of seeing one day. I’m fortunate to have the chance of having the full experience live so I try not to ruin it for myself lol). I gobbled up all the official promo clips and videos from the NYC revival, being super unlucky and managing to plan my New York trip in that small window when BMC just closed Off-Broadway and before it got on Broadway. I haven’t even listened to the Broadway recording, because by the time it came out I knew they’ll be staging a production over here. So i went in quite blind. With all that previous ado, this is how it was:

The book is so good. So so good. Many times when I fall in love with an album, the actual musical doesn’t hold up because the book doesn’t compare (hi, Dear Evan Hansen). But BMC is as engaging and fun between the songs as during them. Tbh I don’t love the changes to the songs they made, but I don’t really hate them either... Now having listened to the Broadway recording they reverted somewhat back to the original album on West End and I’m happy they did, but still. Especially Pitiful Children did not deserve the cuts. But I mean its still mostly the same album and it’s brilliant and fun, and ok, Looser, Geek or Whatever is a bop.

(Although I always kinda liked that Jeremy didn’t have a typical big “hero song” because he keeps mentioning how he isn’t a hero and it was kinda ironic that his own show refused him the hero treatment, but the song is solid.)

This cast is EVERYTHING. I’m sorry all previous casts, I love you and I respect you but i really think the British cast is (so far) the peak? Obviously as I said I don’t have the full picture to compare, but honestly these guys are all so good and I can’t imagine anyone else in these roles, they set the bar so high. Yes, even Michael. Omg I’m so sorry George Salazar! This role is his in a very special way, and I feel blasphemous saying this! But that’s what makes Blake Patrick Anderson so special, because I didn’t think I will ever be able to accept another Micheal than George Salazar. But from the first moment Anderson appears on stage, you don’t think of George Salazar. This right here is a Micheal and that’s it. I think he’s slightly less... Manic, than Salazar, and more caring, but also more stubborn, and nerdy. My friend said after the first act the character’s problem is that he’s a bit too likeable and it’s almost unbelievable he would be a social outcast and she was right. The dude is so damn likeable! So charming, so positive. And then Micheal in the Bathroom hits and omg does it hit. Also Blake Patrick Anderson has a really long name is very pretty. A+ snack. I’m in love. Scott Folan is, uh, I don’t really love him vocally... Ok I liked him until Loser Geek of Whatever. I don’t know, maybe it wasn’t his day. Or maybe that song is just written for Will Roland and no one will ever measure up? Tbh I haven’t seen Roland sing it live so who knows, maybe it is one of those songs that’s hard to perform without yelling a bit. Praying circle for the West End cast album? However Scott Folan’s acting is a masterclass. He’s so awkward in the first act, so sad, but also sweet. Actually I said i didn’t love his singing but when his voice cracks all over in his first few songs it’s superb and also his “Christiiine~” is really beautiful and lovely, so, dunno *shrugs*. And then in the second half he totally sells his confidence and assholer-y and like... They seem like two different jeremys, the squipped and un-squipped one. But ultimately he just gives such good-kid vibes. He seems like the perfect midpoint between Will Connolly’s shy Bambi and Roland’s geeky recluse. This Christine is absolutely feral. Like, you have no idea. Some people commented on the video of I Love Play Rehersal from the rehearsals that this Christine is not chaotic enough, so I’m seriously worried how chaotic Stephenie Hsu was? :D In any case Miracle Chance I thought was perfect, the ideal mixture of quirky but relatable, sweet but strong. Also she is hilarious. I’m pretty sure she got the most laugh out of the audience, not just because the actress’s absolutely perfect comedic timing but also that role is so well written. Like you really can’t get the full idea of this character until you watch the show, you know? It’s very layered, but each layer is easy to get so she makes a really fun character to watch. The Squip is hot. Like so hot. And his costumes are wonderful. And I know I’m not the only one who didn’t love Jason Tam’s accent as Squip and like... I think I know what he was going for but it just doesn’t work for me. This Squip is a lot more like Eric William Morris, just more hot. Oh yeah I mean the dude is fantastic actor too, and his voice is something impressive, but mostly I was just thinking “hot” whenever he was on stage :D James Hameed’s Rich is vocally stunning. By far the best Squip Song I have ever heard. Also he has Pickle Rick tattoo?? It’s fucking brilliant I HATE IT! :D Millie O’Connel is perfect of course. She has such a presence on stage. It was hilarious when she came out after the show, with her hair down and make-up off and said hi and people mostly kinda ignored her cause... She’s really a hurricane on stage and when she dials it down just a notch I really think people don’t connect her to her stage persona :D

(Also like, massive kudos to The Other Palace’s stage door, cause they allow you to just hang around the bar where the cast has to go through to leave the place, so no dirty alleyways stage dooring in rain and cold and possible pickpockets around.)

I really loved the staging, and it’s very small, very minimal, which isn’t something I normally like, so well done! They definitely dialled back from the Broadway (the bean bags are back!) and honestly the minimal props and simple set really suit this show. It adds to that almost-like-a-really-good-school-play charm. But also they have this massive LED screen as the background so they can change and move and animate their backdrop and it’s honestly so impressive. The artwork is so perfectly in line with the show’s aesthetic. And it’s building up and up towards the show’s climax which I thought was pretty subtle and pretty neat creative decision.

Ugh this is so long I didn’t think it would be so long :D But I have one criticism I cannot not mention. And I kinda always had this, but seeing it live it jumps out on me more - I don’t feel Jeremy and Christine :| I mean don’t get me wrong. The actors have amazing chemistry, their added song is the one that I actually really like and it makes sense, there’s so much more meaningful interaction they have in the show than the songs wold suggest. But. It still doesn’t quite sit well. Besides the fact that I don’t think the show’s narrative is about Jeremy getting the girl - that’s not really his character arc. But also, although they’re not incompatible, he gets the girl he doesn’t even really know, and she definitely doesn’t know him. I think I would prefer if they just stayed friends at the end, but if there had to be romantic conclusion... Well, I mean who doesn’t ship boyf friends, but seriously if Michael was a girl I’m pretty sure he’d be the romantic endgame for Jeremy. You know the type, the old friend who was by the protagonists side and believed in him all along? Yeah. But besides that, i was surprised to find I kinda liked Jeremy with Brooke too? I mean they have the same problem as Jeremy and Christine, with not knowing each other and all that, but at least it’s mutual, and they seemed to have a spark. But maybe it’s just because I unexpectedly really, really loved Brooke (she doesn’t have much space on the album and no one ever really talks about her, why does no one really talk about her???). She defies a lot of her archetype, she seems like such a sweet person. I guess I would just like to see more of her, and more depth to her, which a romance with the protagonist would’ve given her.

But tbh the show devotes a lot more time than I thought it would for Christine and Jeremey’s relationship to develop and it isn’t unrealistic, so it ended up being a pretty minor issue, which i though would be a bigger one.

Tl;dr (oh my god why is this so long????) this show is everything I wanted and more. The West End cast is amazing, charming and delightful and each of them is perfectly cast to really embody their character, while giving some fresh outlook on characters I thought I knew very well and filling very big shoes of the original cast I thought couldn’t be replaced. Also I didn’t talk to any of them but they spend a long time hanging out with the fans after the show and seemed genuinely super nice and pleased with the love the show is getting. The book is more than an equal partner to the music I already was in love with (also Joe Iconis was at the show I saw! I didn’t talk to him because I’m me and I will forever regret it!). The Other Palace’s staging and direction is wonderful, and the choreography is impressive and very on brand with the rest of the show, very modern, very electro and robot. I enjoyed every second and the standing ovation at the end was well deserved.

Just to re-affirm how much I loved this show - just few days after seeing it I booked a ticket to go see it again almost immediately lol. So if anyone is seeing it this Wednesday 26th Feb and you can telepathically pick me in the audience come say hello!

(Or like, drop me a message like a normal person if you’re also going alone and want to meet with someone to seem less like a weirdo! :D)

#ramblings #i have a life #be more chill #bmc #be more chill west end #i love musicals!#musical theatre #review #i guess?#it’s pretty much just me yelling what a good time i had

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rolorules · 4 years ago

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A Very Ashford Christmas

This story harkens back to an older fanfic and is more or less consistent with it. If you don’t know Duncan from the show, that is not a surprise because he is what you call an OC these days.

“So you’ve finally overcome your adversity to costumes, I see.” Duncan said with a tone of satisfaction.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Rolo replied, “I’m wearing it to humour the president.”

“I see. Naturally, the party was her idea.”

“In a way, but her original plans were a little different.”

“Now I’m curious. Come on, spill the beans.”

“Alright, so shortly after my brother’s birthday, Miss Milly approached me, and the conversation went like this:”

Duncan grinned when Rolo imitated Milly’s exuberant and bossy manner.

“Oh ROLO, what a coincidence, I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

“Miss President, what can I do for you?” Rolo as Rolo of the past said in his normal voice.

“I am planning our annual Christmas celebration at Ashford.” Milly-Rolo said. “And this year I’d like to do a nativity play. Seeing that you have such a sweet and innocent look - “

“Oh please, no.” Rolo-Rolo thought out loud.

“I want you to play the reindeer!”

“The WHAT?”

“So I tried to explain to her that -” present-day Rolo went on, but his explanation was drowned by Duncan’s roaring laughter, which continued for at least five minutes.

“Religion is really in the crapper in this country.” Duncan said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“Amen, brother!” Rolo remarked drily, “but anyway -”

“The UNholy Britannian Empire!”

“I get it, Duncan, I get it. So ANYWAY, I explained to her that a nativity play is obviously not what she thinks it is and suggested an ordinary Christmas party instead. And she agreed.”

“Good call. But she still wanted you to play the reindeer, apparently.”

“Unfortunately yes.” Rolo nodded, his antlers shaking sadly.

“Cheer up, pal. The costume looks good on you.”

“Thanks. So does yours, just that in your case it isn’t a lie. You really look the part.”

And Rolo was right. The pointy tips glued to Duncan’s ears, the green tunic and the green pointy hat, in combination with his curly hair of dark ginger made him look as if he had come fresh from the North Pole.

“Gee, thanks. I normally use this for cosplay, but I just had to tie a tiny bell to the hat, et voilà, I’m a Christmas elf.”

“Well then, Mr. Elf, maybe you want to join our little performance?”

“There’s going to be a play anyway?” Duncan asked in surprise.

“Not exactly. Once Milly had got the reindeer thing straight, she wanted to sing the Rudolph song with us, in costume, of course, with a little dancing added for good measure.”

“Sounds amazing.” Duncan gave his trademark laugh, which was both perfectly sincere and good-natured. It had nothing of the haughtiness and cynicism that Lelouch’s laugh was often tainted with, amnesia or no. Rolo had found it annoying at first, but then he had started to slightly envy Duncan for it. “But I pass,” Duncan went on, “I suspect watching the show is more fun. Besides, as far as I can recall, there are no elves in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’.”

“There are no angels in it either,” Rolo said with a hint of sarcasm, “but Rivalz is still going to play one. He already had his costume made when we changed plans, and now he insists on wearing it. And Miss Shirley also looks a bit like a female elf.”

“So who’s going to play Santa?”

“That would be the Prez. She is not wearing a beard or anything, but her outfit looks the most like Santa’s.”

“Figures.” Duncan nodded. “Does that mean you’re going to be Rudolph?”

“Oh no, thank goodness.” Rolo sighed in relief. “Miss Milly has 'chosen’ Big Brother for that. Rivalz has bought one of the red noses that clowns usually wear and has glued an LED to the inside. Big Brother is not happy about that, I reckon.”

“Seems like it!” Duncan said, pointing behind Rolo.

Rolo turned and saw Lelouch running towards them, dressed in a costume similar to his own.

“Hello Rolo’s Big Brother,” Duncan began, “I’m hap-”

Lelouch hurried past them, completely ignoring Duncan.

“Should we follow him?” the green-clad boy asked, watching Lelouch half-tumble down Ashford’s main stairway.

“No need to hurry.” Rolo replied. “Let’s give him a little head start.”

“Are you not worried that he might get away?”

“The one thing you have to know about my brother,” Rolo stated calmly, “is that he has no stamina at all.”

Lelouch was already halfway toward their apartment when he heard footsteps behind him. When he looked back, he saw an elf and a reindeer pursuing him.

“Traitor!” he muttered to himself, trying to increase his pace, but in vain. Within seconds the boys had caught up to him, grasped him and held him firmly. While they were trying to pull him back, Duncan said: “As I was trying to say: Hello, Rolo’s Big Brother! I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

“Who’s that, Rolo? A right busybody as I can see!” Lelouch grumbled.

That’s Duncan.” Rolo replied, “He’s a classmate -” He caught Duncan’s look. “He’s a friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lelouch exclaimed, “I don’t like you already.”

“Don't be mean, Big Brother. Come on, let’s go back to the others. They depend on us and we cannot let them down.”

Willy-nilly, Lelouch allowed himself to be dragged back to the student council room by the two boys. When they arrived, Angel Rivalz greeted them by saying: “Just as I thought. We already started looking for you. Well done, you two.”

Shirley, who was wearing a pink Christmas outfit, said: “That’s so like you, Lulu. There’s no need to be embarrassed. It’s going to be fun. Come on, let’s rehearse one more time. Look, here’s some encouragement!”

There was a whiteboard in the room, on which Shirley had written “Ho ho ho, let’s go!”

“How original!” Rolo muttered under his breath. As the rehearsal was proceeding, he had a minor bout of stage fright, so he took a marking pen and changed the wording to “Please let me go!” and signed it “Rolo Lamperouge”.

“Don’t you dare!” a voice behind him yelled. As he looked around, an angry red-nosed reindeer was pointing a finger at him and said: “Back there you were preaching to me how we could not let everyone down. Now put your money where your mouth is!” Resistance was futile.

Before the show started, Shirley asked Duncan to take a photo of the cast, which he did. Rolo looked a bit lost and Lelouch refused to turn towards the camera, but he was satisfied with the result.

The performance was a huge success. Rolo was fortunate enough to have only one short solo part where he (as he was “all the reindeer”) had to tell his reindeer brother that he would “go down in history” (which was probably true). The students were cheering frenetically and gave them standing ovations. Rolo managed to sneak from the stage before anyone could ask for an encore.

Afterwards, the student council members handed out small gifts to the students and there was a huge get-together including Christmas karaoke, food and drink.

“Wasn’t that awesome?” Rivalz said to Rolo. “I can’t believe the red-nosed bastard wanted to bail on us!”

“Is that ‘non-alcoholic’ Christmas punch the same one we had on Halloween?”

“I think so.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

Finally, Rolo found Duncan.

“So did you like it?” Rolo asked.

“It was smashing.” Duncan grinned. “Staying at Ashford over Christmas was the best choice I’ve ever made. Correction: enrolling here was the best choice I’ve ever made. There’s always fun stuff going on around here. Don’t you think so, too?”

“Probably,” Rolo admitted. “Sometimes I’m surprised that there is any learning going on. But it’s certainly not boring.”

“All work and no play makes Rolo a dull boy.”

“I’m not dull,” Rolo retorted, “only focused.”

“Admit it,” Duncan grinned, “you also enjoyed the show.”

“Let’s say I didn’t hate it.”

The ginger elf beamed. “This school is doing you good, too. That’s obvious.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. So merry Christmas, Rolo. I hope your brother won’t be mad at you.”

“I don’t think so. He’s not one to hold a grudge, at least not against me.”

“Glad to hear it. Good night, then.”

“Night. Oh, and Duncan!?”

“Yes?”

“Merry Christmas!”

Later at night, two tired ex-reindeer were walking through the half-darkness towards their apartment.

“Big Brother?”

“Yes, Rolo?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not. Sorry for overreacting. I should be used to Milly’s whims by now.” Lelouch laughed. “That one time she wanted us to all dress as cats. Nobody knew what the point of that was.”

“Really? That’s weird. And a bit scary.”

“Agreed. Who knows what else she might come up with.”

“Are you mad at Duncan?”

“The elf? Not really. Actually, I’m pretty happy that you have someone you get along with in your class. You were a bit of an introvert when you came here, but you seem to have become much more open. I’m proud of how well you have managed to fit in, Little Brother.”

“Thank you, Big Brother.” Rolo said and was glad that the darkness covered his blush.

Lying in bed, Rolo was pondering all this. He did not consider himself a shy person. In his field of expertise, he felt extremely confident. But Ashford Academy had posed a number of challengers to him. Being part of a family was the first one. Fitting in as a student was the second. Meeting people’s expectations towards the brother of Lelouch Lamperouge was the third. Being able to hide behind the facade of a shy persona certainly came in handy. Still, Rolo felt that he had managed to face all these challenges successfully.

He was also confident that he would be able to face the challenge of Lelouch regaining his memory. But for now, being a student was fine with him. He liked birthdays (a lot), he liked Halloween and Christmas (he wasn’t sure about Valentine’s Day, though). He did not mind playing Lelouch Lamperouge’s little brother for a little longer either; in fact, he hoped that Lelouch would not regain his memories till after graduation - from university.

#Rolo Lamperouge #Code Geass #Christmas #lelouch lamperouge #Rivalz Cardemonde #Milly Ashford #Shirley Fenette

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cyb-by-lang · 5 years ago

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The Callout

Since I totally forgot to ever do anything for @writer-and-artist27 in response to all the art she’s sent me over the last few months, I decided winter was a good time to work on something really quick. Thus, a one-day gift fic.

Especially something that encourages my preferred The Sea and Stars ‘ship. :p

This takes place in The Sea and Stars, a crossover with CYB and Civilian Pianist, wherein a whole buncha people are not dead and there’s more than one SIOC running around.

In terms of ships and romance arcs, this is quite possibly one of the most ironic things Kei has ever participated in.

It was a sunny December day in Konoha when Obito Uchiha pounded on my front door. Normally, this wasn’t much of an issue. I kept snacks in the house for exactly this reason. It encouraged my and Hayate’s friends to visit through the expectation of food. Teenagers were a little like vultures that way. Mom only had to help me with the fiddliest parts of candy-making.

“Kei, come on!” Obito shouted from the front step of the house. His voice drifted in through the open window. “I know you’re not busy!”

The fact that he was correct did not, in fact, make my mood lift.

I sighed inwardly and went to the door, opening it just in time to almost catch Obito’s knocking hand with my nose. Luckily, he stopped in time. “Whoa, okay,” I said while he overbalanced just a bit. As he recovered, I followed up with, “What the hell is going on?”

“Um.” Obito stuffed his hands into his pockets, suddenly shy when confronted by my grumpy face. “Can we talk inside? You’re our team’s medic, so…”

I looked Obito up and down. To my chakra sense, his internal flame bobbed uncertainly as though in a high wind. Behind his goggles, his expression was a mix of nervous and potentially nauseous, with the thinnest sheen of sweat over his face. His collar was loose, as though he’d fussed with it, and he shifted from foot to foot like he’d burned them.

I stepped back from the door and ushered him inside. He was so discombobulated that he almost forgot to take off his shoes before making his way to the living room. He shed his jacket before crawling under the kotatsu like some kind of worm. Maybe a bear cub in search of a hiding spot.

“Is someone here?” Mom called, from all the way across the house. She’d been carefully pruning a potted indoor rose in the kitchen when I wandered off to put out fires.

“It’s just me!” Obito replied from his heater blanket spot.

I sat down on the next corner and stuck my legs underneath the quilt.

“Obito-kun?” Mom stuck her head out of the kitchen, expression full of concern. Her gardening scissors were still in one hand. Obito was well within her sensing range, and she was more precise than me. She was basically capable of reading minds.

“I can handle it,” I said to Mom, to keep Obito from having to lie to her. I, for my part, didn’t know I was lying. Couldn’t, since I didn’t know what the problem was.

Mom subsided, though she wasn’t convinced. She retreated with a mild, “Don’t mind me, then. Food’s on the stove.”

And on the table. Like any self-respecting traditional home, we had oranges on the kotatsu to stave off colds and scurvy. And dorayaki, because I’d been assembling them when Obito popped by. The stack of small pancakes were kind of hard to miss.

Obito wiggled a bit out from under the table to inspect the sugar on display.

“So,” I said, as he snatched one of the finished treats from the pile. “What’s eating you?”

“Eh?” Obito managed, around a mouthful of pancake. He chewed quickly, then swallowed. There were crumbs around his mouth. “Um, sorta. Like a medical thingy.”

“And you’re not going to Rin about this?” I asked.

“I tried,” Obito said, pouting. “But she’s busy with her medic training stuff right now, so I came here instead.”

Well, at least being second fiddle to Rin in terms of medical expertise was pretty common. And if Obito wasn’t comfortable heading to the hospital, that was pretty much my role in life at large.

“It’s really freaking me out,” Obito said, even as he picked another dorayaki from the pile. “Kei, I think it’s got something to do with Tomo-chan.”

“With Tomo?” I stared at him, even as my hands kept up the dorayaki assembly procedure. Red bean paste, custard cream, chocolate (originally received as a gift from Tomoko), and then chestnuts. In that order. Variety was key. “What, like she’s poisoning you?”

Obito snorted. If he’d been chomping through dorayaki as fast as I was making them, crumbs would’ve flown out of his nose. “I’d sooner accuse you. Tomo-chan doesn’t have a mean bone in her whole body.”

Accurate. “So, what are your symptoms?”

“Not even gonna defend yourself?” Obito asked, hiding a grin under pretend offense.

I shrugged. Instead, I pointed the spatula I was using in Obito’s face like a sword and said, “Spill, or I can’t help you.”

“Um…” Obito squirmed under my gaze. Sitting up, he could hardly avoid my scrutiny unless he was planning on hiding under the quilt like a five-year-old. And he’d be well within kicking range then.

“Obito,” I said with thinning patience.

“Hey, don’t rush me!” Obito protested, when I made a stabbing motion with the spatula. A little under his breath, he grumbled, “Tomo-chan doesn’t threaten me when I hang around her.”

“And yet you’re here,” I shot back. While Obito mumbled and kept refusing to talk, I settled back into my rhythm of assembling pancake sandwiches. Which was basically what dorayaki were. In a calmer voice, I said, “Seriously, what’s the story?”

“So…” Obito curled a little in on himself, slumped across the tabletop. With his head pillowed by his arms and the plate of dorayaki in front of him, he focused on the sweets instead of meeting my eyes, even through goggles. “You know I’ve been spending more time over at the café, right?”

I nodded. There were basically four places that Obito frequented, besides his apartment in the Uchiha district. One was my house, because my family had gotten as close to adopting him as non-clan shinobi could over the years. Aside from the training grounds and Sensei’s house, the main other refuge for Obito was the Hoshino-run hotspot in the middle of town. And since Sensei was on a mission and there were no scheduled team training sessions for the month, Obito spent a lot of time at the Nagareboshi Café.

“So, the trouble started there?” I prompted, since he’d fallen silent to let me think. Or let himself think. Either-or.

“Kinda?”

I nudged the plate closer to his nose.

“You’re awful,” said Obito, but bit one in half anyway. After swallowing, he explained, “Do you ever see people you know in your dreams?”

I didn’t exactly dream normally, but I definitely experienced something like that. “Yep. Why?”

“So do I, basically all the time.” Obito dropped his chin to the table again, half a dorayaki in his hand. “Like, sometimes Kakashi gets his ass kicked by like a talking marshmallow or something. Or I dream about finding cats, or like sometimes I’m looking out onto a river when the water keeps going up past my feet and I can’t run.”

“Pretty sure that last one’s a nightmare,” I said.

“Yeah, probably.” Obito cleared his throat. “And like, uh, sometimes the dreams are less super weird and more, uh… not.”

I kicked him under the table.

“Ow! Kei, I’m getting to it.”

“You’re circling the drain,” I told him.

“Sheesh, see if I ever tell you secrets again,” he griped. “Kakashi’d at least just make fun of me once.”

I waited.

“Okay, okay, I wouldn’t cut you off like that,” Obito admitted. He sighed mightily, making me raise both of my eyebrows. That was certainly odd for a teenage boy on as much sugar as he’d just consumed. “You know how I was nervous coming here? Like, I can feel myself just break out into a sweat when I’m anywhere near Tomo-chan.”

“You don’t say,” I told him flatly.

Obito pretended I hadn’t just decided to be sardonic at him. “And lately, I’ve been having these weird thoughts. And they’ve been crossing over into dreams.”

I assembled more dorayaki and gestured for him to continue.

“You know how Tomo-chan hugs…basically everybody?”

Having owned the title of “most frequent recipient of Tomoko hugs” five years running, I nodded. “Hard to miss.”

“Right.” His face turned faintly pink. “I’m making it weird, I think.”

“Weird how?” I asked, though the hamster wheel in the back of my head was starting to turn. “Has she been doing it differently?”

“No, it’s more like…” Obito stared down at the table. After a second or two, he pried his goggles from over his eyes and placed them atop his headband’s metal plate, rubbing at the marks it left in his face. “It’s like… She’s really warm.”

Well, duh.

“And, uh…” The tips of Obito’s ears reddened, too. “She’s soft, so when she hugs me, I don’t…really want to let go? But I have to when she does, or else it’s weird. And I guess I’m noticing more when she sticks her face here.” He rubbed awkwardly at where his neck met his shoulder, as though feeling phantom sensation. “And when she does, I can’t help but just want to hang on so it doesn’t end so fast, and then the first thing happens again.”

I resisted the urge to reintroduce my palm to my forehead with a loud smack. Because this? This was getting into the kind of territory that I’d never been completely comfortable with.

Teenage crushes.

Joy of fucking joys.

Still, because I was the big sister friend, I said, “So, how long has this been going on?”

“Um, a couple weeks.” Obito met my gaze. “At first, I figured I was just allergic to something and needed to figure out what.”

“That clearly didn’t pan out,” I said.

“Well, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t gonna once the dreams kicked in.” Obito made a face. “I mean, I’ve had…”

“Weird dreams?” I filled in, my voice still dry.

“Yeah,” Obito mumbled. He’d managed to push the blush away, but now it was back with a vengeance. “I, uh, don’t get them about Rin anymore. And I thought…” His hands wrung together.

“Obito, the only person who doesn’t know about your huge crush on Rin is Rin.” Well. Actually… “Unless it’s gone now?”

“I mean, I still like Rin,” Obito said immediately, almost frantic. “But—But maybe not the same way?” His voice dropped into a whisper as he ducked his head. “I mean, I don’t get all weird around Rin anymore, do I?”

“You’ve followed Rin around like a puppy since I’ve known you,” I said, setting the spatula aside. I planted my elbow on the table and leaned on it, tilting my head to try and peer at his face. “Like, you couldn’t’ve made it more obvious if you ran around wearing a shirt that said ‘Obito Loves Rin’ on the front and ‘I’m Obito’ on the back. You’re not gonna be any less obvious if the crush latches onto Tomo instead.”

Obito made a funny gurgling noise in the back of his throat.

I heroically resisted the urge to grab Obito’s goggles, pull, and let them snap back onto his head with enough force to bowl him ass over teakettle backwards. He didn’t get to escape this conversation by melting into goo after having dragged me into it.

“She’s my friend.” Obito’s voice was more a wail than anything. Just quiet and muffled by the table. “I’m making it weird and I can’t make it stop!” Miserably, he added, “Maybe it’s because like…some part of me doesn’t want it to, and I can’t make that stop either.”

I considered the embarrassed ball of whining teenager my mostly-brother had turned into. “So… We’ve successfully figured out that you have a huge crush on Tomo. And that you totally lied to me about not being able to go to Rin.”

Obito didn’t protest.

“What are you going to do about it?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“The whole ‘hold my feelings in until I die of old age or Rin’s crush on Kakashi wears off’ method didn’t work for the last one,” I pointed out. It cut very close to an unpleasant potential future I didn’t want to think about, but maybe making a joke of it would take the edge off. “Might wanna try something different for this.”

“Your advice sucks,” Obito said, glaring at me.

“Tomo wouldn’t notice your crush unless you asked to kiss her,” I went on, fairly mercilessly. “Do you want to?”

Obito more resembled a tomato than a shinobi. “Kei!”

“That’s not a ‘no,’” I said.

“No, it’s not a ‘no,’ but you can’t just ask someone that!”

“Why not?”

“You just can’t!”

“That’s not a reason,” I said, crossing my arms.

Obito jerked his head away, visibly biting his lip. His flush faded quickly this time.

“What is it?” I asked.

“We were both there when she talked about Tai,” Obito said finally, and my stomach sank a little at the name.

I’d decided if I ever got my hands on Tomoko’s shitty former friend, I’d rip his hair out by the roots. In the meantime, speaking the name of that person felt like admitting there was a chance I wouldn’t be violent.

Obito apparently didn’t believe in unpersoning someone and letting the memory die a cold, lonely death.

“I-I can’t break her heart like he did.” Obito’s earnest expression was a little heartbreaking. “I just can’t.”

“Do you think you’re going to?” I asked.

“Well, I mean, Tai hurt her without knowing. I can’t know if I don’t know, you know?” Obito talked in circles when uncertain, like it put off the answer until a time when he wouldn’t be on the spot.

No such luck for him. “The guy used Tomo as a punching bag. You have the basic capacity to ask people what’s wrong and change your behavior to avoid hurting people.” If there was a thread of vibrating rage cutting through my words, Obito likely didn’t hear it. “Don’t compare yourself to that scumbag.”

“He was Tomo-chan’s friend first, though. And that’s a—”

“Hey,” I interrupted. “Do you think I’m going to hurt you?”

“No?”

“Or Tomo? Or Kakashi or Rin?” I rattled off, faster.

“No!” Obito looked offended on my behalf. “Who’s saying stuff like that?”

I sliced through the air between us with one hand, silencing him. “Obito, you aren’t him. If you can’t trust yourself to be considerate, that’s one thing, but this isn’t even you talking. You’re letting fear run away with you.”

“Tomo-chan deserves better than—”

I grabbed Obito’s dorayaki out of his hand.

“Hey!”

“You don’t get this back until you stop talking like that,” I informed him. “Don’t even think you’re faster than me.”

“You’re just saying that because I don’t have my Sharingan yet!”

And he would, eventually. But that wasn’t now.

“And since you don’t, you’re just gonna have to listen to me,” I said, gesturing with the half-a-pancake. While he glared at me, I asked, “Do you like Tomo?”

“You know I do,” Obito snapped.

“Do you ever want to hurt her feelings?”

“Of course not!”

Well, then maybe he’d forgive me for being rather rough with his right now. It was the angriest friend pep-talk I’d given in my life, and it was still in progress. “Then what do you want to do? You, not that asshole’s whiny ghost.”

“I—” Obito hesitated. He lost steam.

“You aren’t him.” I dropped the dorayaki back on the plate. “You’re Obito.”

“I…” Obito swallowed, as though his mouth was suddenly dry. “I want to hold her hand. I want to hug her. I just… I hope she’s happy with me around.”

It wasn’t like Obito could read chakra yet, but… “Believe me, she is.”

Obito huffed a laugh. “You’d know, I guess.”

More or less. “Do you want to help her be happy?”

“I do.” Obito knew that for sure, at least. “I just don’t know how to…do that. I think all I do is scare her.”

I mean, your potential scares the hell outta me, but that’s not exactly the point, I thought. “What Tomo’s scared of is people getting hurt. You definitely included. Which, given our jobs, is kinda part of the package.”

Leaving aside the question of foreknowledge, shinobi life was genuinely dangerous. Tomoko knew damn well that people around her could get hurt or killed without any chance for her to weigh in until the crisis was over. If she couldn’t accept that, Tomoko would’ve kept her head down from the start.

“You can’t control stuff like that,” I said, after a bit of a pause. I leaned forward on my elbows. “But you can control your own actions. Again, what do you want to do?”

Obito’s gaze darted around. “You’re sure I can’t just not say anything…?”

“Oh, you could do that. It just didn’t work the first time,” I said lightly. “So, pick your poison.”

“You suck,” Obito complained. “How the hell did I get stuck with such a jerk for a best friend?”

“Oh, like I’m the one who’s making your life difficult right now. That’s all you.”

Obito blew out a frustrated breath. “So like…if I wanted to tell her, then, what do you think I should do?”

I shrugged. “Something totally not subtle at all.”

“Sensei says I don’t know what ‘subtle’ is,” said Obito, “but you’re the one who keeps trying to use explosive tags in sparring matches.”

Pff, whatever. I hadn’t gotten close to actually tagging Sensei yet. “Don’t turn this back on me.” I drummed my fingers on the table. Without apparently noticing, Obito did much the same on his arm as we thought. Finally, I said, “If you’re gonna do this confession thing, you have to make it absolutely clear. Tomo throws around ‘I love you’ hard enough to concuss bystanders, so just throwing her phrasing back is gonna get you nowhere. Like, make it really clear.”

Obito buried his face in his hands. “Why did I come here for advice?”

“Because I know Tomo better than anybody ‘cept maybe her parents?” And her split personality fragment. Without letting him respond, I said, “You might have to try more than once. But I swear, if you let her leave with some kinda goofy misunderstanding, I’ll throw these things at you until you fix it.” I pointed at the dorayaki, then crossed my arms with an even more stubborn air. “I am not putting up with unresolved crush drama.”

“Should I just get a bunch of roses?” Obito asked, half-sarcastically. He measured what’d probably be a solid two-dozen blooms in a bouquet, if he hadn’t just been holding empty air. “Maybe then she’d get it?”

“If they’re red, probably?” I wasn’t exactly a member of the hanakotoba club or anything, but I did know that different flowers had different meanings. And that Tomoko would read anything as platonic if at all possible.

“And if I yell ‘I’m in love with you!’ in public?” Obito went on, now apparently finding his footing.

“You say that, but she got up in the middle of the stands and said pretty much the same thing during the Chūnin Exams, while waving a huge flag.”

“Oh shit. I forgot for a second.” Obito’s blush was back.

“Like I said. Do not leave room for interpretation. Or misinterpretation.” I finally reached out and patted his shoulder. “Good fucking luck, man.”

Obito groaned. “Now that you’ve said it, I know I’m gonna need it.”

“You two had better not include cursing in your master plan,” said Mom from the kitchen. Like she hadn’t been there the whole time, listening to our ongoing drama. She stuck her head around the corner again. “Tomoko-chan deserves better than that.”

I gesticulated with both hands and a spatula. “But does she deserve better than Obito?”

Mom looked Obito up and down like I had, and he looked like he wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

“You suit each other just fine,” said Mom.

“That’s what I said!” I pumped an arm in victory.

“I can’t take much more of this.” Obito still accepted the pile of dorayaki when I shoved them at him again. “Why is being in love so stressful?”

“Dunno. But hey.” I patted his shoulder a little more gently this time. “You’ll be cute together.”

“Please shut up.”

“Never.”

--------

The promised day was really just about a week later, because finding roses in winter was more annoying than it really had to be. We talked to Kakashi about it, got nowhere, and then went to Kushina in desperation when he told us to basically fuck off and leave him alone.

She pointed us at the Yamanaka clan, because she had most of her shit in order.

Then.

The day.

Arrived.

It was like watching a slow motion train wreck in the middle of Nagareboshi Café.

And Obito tried.

“Tomo-chan,” he began, hiding the bouquet with little success behind his back. “I—I love you.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

I sighed through my nose.

“I love you too, Obi!” Tomoko said, because of course she did. It didn’t take a Hyuga to notice that the words hadn’t sunk in properly, merely being interpreted as another sign of friendship. “I’m really glad we’re friends.”

“Ouch,” said Kakashi, inaudible to the goofball couple.

I twitched with the urge to kick him under the table, but too many parents were in the immediate area. I’d probably get yelled at almost instantly.

“So, um, I got you this bouquet…” Obito trailed off a little uncertainly. “To, um, thank you for everything.”

Kakashi looked like he shared the urge to facepalm. Obito had lost the thread a little.

Our observation wasn’t all that subtle by shinobi standards, but Tomoko didn’t exactly know that we were here for a specific event. She just figured we showed up for the free food, which was fair.

At least her focus was still on Obito.

“This is painful,” my dad muttered, only to be elbowed from both sides by my mom and my brother. “Ow!”

Tomoko’s expression lit up. “They’re beautiful. I think there’s a vase to put them right… here…”

“They’re red roses,” Obito said, with the slightest tinge of desperation for her to get the message.

“Yeah, th—” Tomoko froze mid-word like a badly buffering video. “O-Obi? This is—um—eh?” Her voice pitched upward, tossed in wild waves of stammering emotion, as her big blue eyes locked directly on Obito’s crimson face. “Eh?!”

“I, um…” Obito and Tomoko at least matched. Any redder and cars would treat them like traffic lights.

If there were any cars around here, anyway.

“Wh-when I say ‘I love you,’ I mean I’m in love with y-you,” Obito said. “In c-case that wasn’t clear!”

Tomoko squeaked. “I—Obi?!”

“He thinks you’re super cute!” Dad yelled from the back of the shop, before Hayate hissed at him to stop helping.

“B-but—” She sounded one step short of hyperventilating, so I started to slide out of my seat. Maybe I’d be needed, medically. Like, for once in this entire sequence of events.

Kakashi stopped me immediately.

Better let the kids sort it out.

“Ohgod,” Tomoko said frantically, “I—I—I thought you liked Rin?!”

Oh, great. I could feel Obito’s chakra flicker uncertainly. Way to shoot yourself in the foot, both of you.

Tomoko’s feelings weren’t difficult to parse out. There was a little happy balloon in the middle of a whole rat’s nest of sharpened punji stakes. It drifted close to popping itself on such insecurities as “canon compliance” and “but he’s not into me” any direction it turned.

“Not me,” she half-mumbled, only a short hop from denial to the dangerous zone of actually hurting Obito. “Wh-why me? I-I mean—”

Not even Tomoko could miss the way Obito’s face fell, even as he gently took her bouquet-occupied hands in his.

“I-I mean, I’m honored—b-but I—” Her head jerked away from his face and toward the piano. She vented all of her feelings through ninshu, so not having the release valve was probably making her even more nervous. “A-are you sure? About me?”

“I’m sure about me,” Obito said, his voice a little faint. “B-but now I’m less sure about y-your feelings.”

“D-don’t be!”

“This is actually, legitimately painful,” Kakashi muttered.

I thought that over and decided I agreed. Sheesh, the secondhand embarrassment was thick enough to cut. It was gonna fall and smother the lot of us. “At least it’s not you over there, right?”

Kakashi snorted, his chakra buzzing with the agitation of someone trapped in a social situation ANBU would kill to escape.

Tomoko let out a hiccup. Though she was careful not to squeeze the bouquet too hard in case there were thorns hidden somewhere, she gripped Obito’s hands back with enough force that their knuckles went simultaneously white.

Hope buoyed Obito’s chakra. “T-Tomo-chan…”

“I-I do like you, Obi. I just don’t know how much I do compared to you.” While Tomoko spoke in her sincere way, I made a mental note to buy a spray bottle. She needed some kind of way to discourage negative self-talk, but now wasn’t the time. “But, um, I’m willing to find out more with you by my side.” Her voice tilted upward, not quite a question. “If that’s okay?”

“Definitely.” Obito beamed.

Tomoko matched that smile.

#the sea and stars #keisuke gekko #obito uchiha #hoshino tomoko #kakashi hatake #miyako gekko #wataru gekko #gift fic #snippets

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salpphie · 7 years ago

Text

Character Sheet: Xarnai Qalli

Name - Xarnai Qalli Pronunciation - sar-nai Nickname - Rose/Rosie Race/Clan - Au Ra, Xaela Sex - Female, she/her Age - Twenty-three (23) Nameday - 12th Sun of the Third Umbral Moon Sexuality - Pansexual Status - Single (widowed) Server - Faerie

Personality - Xarnai is a sweet girl, a soft speaker, and can be a little timid. She has a good heart, and her intentions are always in the right place. She’s not very confident in herself and tends to stammer or talk kind of quietly, like she’s afraid of saying something wrong and in case she does she can say “o-oh! It was nothing!”. She’s pretty patient with people, or tolerant, or maybe she just wants to avoid all conflict as possible and tries her best to just handle others. On the flip side, she’s not good at standing up for herself, when she tries she gets nervous or worried. She might also be a bit of a cry baby, reverting to tears as a sort of defense mechanism if her nervous laughter doesn’t do it for her. She might be too optimistic for her own good, wanting to see the best in people but then later realizing maybe they took advantage of her or are using her. Interests - Singing, music, anything dealing with song and dance; she loves cooking home meals and prefers anything meat; she loves caring people, anyone who’s helpful or generally nice. Flowers are also nice, pink flowers. Roses. Flowers. Dislikes - War, fighting, blood and loud noises; she hates thunderstorms and ships, actually having a a minor fear of loud thunder she tends to keep to herself; she also doesn’t enjoy being talked down to. Insecurities - Herself, mostly, she’s not confident in anything but her voice. She’s also afraid of losing those close to her. Quirks - When she’s extremely happy she’ll tend to make her voice very sing-song, meaning she’ll almost sound like she’s singing while she’s talking.

Hair/Eyes - Lighter pink / Lilac purple Skin Tone - Light, more on the pale side. Height- 5′2″ Small Description - She’s very small, fragile, frail, she’s not made to fight at all and shouldn’t unless she wants to get hurt. She’s never trained in combat, and actually even during her tribal years preferred not to do anything intense.

Profession - Singer, basically a side street performer. Also can be a caretaker. Hobbies/Other - Singing, dancing, she likes to garden or help around and do little things for people. Cooking too. Usually how she gets to stay with people is she offers to cook, clean, or garden. Residence - She’s usually around Limsa Lominsa, tends to stay at inns or somehow comes across people to take her in. She does travel from the cities though.

History - Born into the Qalli tribe, Xarnai lived the majority of her life in the Azim Steppe. Her father was quite harsh on her and her mother, and found a dislike to him pretty quickly. But, she respected him, and especially her mother. The two of them had a strong mother/daughter bond. Her mother having taught her everything from song to dance to survival.

Outside of her family, Xarnai liked to believe she had many friends in the Qalli tribe. Despite being super shy and rarely talking to people, she was generally pleasant to be around. Thus, she was accepted by pretty much anyone around her.

As she grew older, her father actually arranged a marriage bond for her to be apart of. She was unaware of this situation, and had no say in the matter, but she reluctantly accepted her fate--knowing that, well, there would be nothing she could do. Batsaikhan, someone she would later find herself become close to, became her husband. He, too, had been put through a similar situation, leading the two to sort of bond over their now intertwined fate. Even without that, they seemed to get along fine. He was a strong singer, and the two of them enjoyed many times in duet and dancing with or to one another’s songs. Xarnai never wanted conflict, which led her to just agree with everything of her new husband--leading him to be a little annoyed she wouldn’t stick up for herself or say no. Most, if not all, of their arguments were him wanting her to grow as a person, not letting fear of conflict and fear in general make her subject to timidness and being used.

Xarnai then told him that she felt if she could get away from her father, maybe she could grow. That planted the seed inside Batsaikhan to come up with the idea that the two of them leave for fresh lands, start over in another place, and hope to make a living together doing what they could do best with the things they loved to do.

Moons later, the plan was to be set in action. At least, was going to. Without any sort of warning, Batsaikhan became extremely sick--poisoned, to be exact. It made no sense, really, especially to her. The wind quickly caught word about Xarnai’s to be late-husband, and his father became extremely upset, knowing quite well he had been poisoned by someone. Probably Xarnai. Most people didn’t believe it could possibly be the young, now soon to be widow. She had always been so kind, caring, and always put others before her. The two of them even got along great and was known to be a generally happy bond. But with her now passing husband’s father, and even her own, they seemed to be stacking evidence that came out of no where to make a convincing case that it was, in fact, Xarnai.

Heartbroken, alone, and betrayed by her own family, the one person should could turn to last-- her mother--helped her flee to new lands like planned. When she finally reached the ship, the storm above her did not dare hold it’s tongue as they traveled to unknown lands. The ship rocked, people groaned and the ship felt like it was about to break under the sea and storms pressure at any moment. It was a horribly traumatizing journey for the, now, young widow. However, she stayed as strong as she could, knowing there would be no other option for her at this point. There would be no going back.

Eventually, she reached Limsa Lominsa, calling it her new home and ultimately doing what she was originally supposed to do with her husband Batsaikhan: start fresh doing what they loved to do. She now acts as a songstress, a care taker for houses, and a dancer.

This has been updated as of 12/16/2017. This is actually more based around my original idea for her.

Mother - Erdeni Qalli Father - Ganzorig Qalli SO - N/A

Fun Facts! - * Idk, she’s pink and cute.

Hai I’m Sal, this is my second RP character.

I like RPing lots of different things. I’m kind of open to whatever with her. She has no intense background, or story, and I think that’s okay. It just means she’ll have a lot of building with different people and different experiences.

Please don’t kill my precious bean.

I’m very shy, so, sometimes it’s hard for me to make the first moves, sorry. ;w;

She’s on the Faerie server but I can RP through tumblr (tho I’ve never done it so I don’t know how it works) on disc, which you can ask for my disc, or through some other means. Whatever, really.

Any questions, comments, concerns, I’m open to whatever. <3

#ffxiv #au ra #xaela #Xarnai Qalli #ffxiv oc #character sheet #updated

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